Effect of verbal instructions on trunk muscle activity during volitional preemptive abdominal contraction.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of Verbal Instruction (VI) strategies on trunk muscle contraction among healthy subjects. The effect of three VI Abdominal Drawing-In Maneuver (ADIM) and two VI Abdominal Bracing Maneuver (ABM) strategies on left Internal (LIO) and External Oblique (LEO) and bilateral superficial Multifidi (sMf) activation was examined. DESIGN: Within-subjects, repeated measure design. METHODS: Surface EMG (sEMG) measured LIO, LEO, and sMf activity in 28 subjects (mean age 23.5 ± 5.5 years). Testing included five supine hook-lying and five quiet standing conditions. RESULTS: One-way ANOVAs demonstrated no significant main effect for ADIM or ABM in supine or standing (p > .05). Muscle activation amplitudes during VPAC conditions demonstrated higher mean values for standing versus supine (p < .05) except for two conditions involving LEO. Friedman Tests for dominant strategy demonstrated a significant main effect for ADIM-VI and ABM-VI strategies. Post-hoc testing generally showed the dominant strategy to be significantly higher versus others. CONCLUSION: No single preferred VI cue for ADIM or ABM was observed. Each subject's dominant strategy dictated the most suitable VI. Standing was preferred for LIO and sMf activation, whereas position did not change LEO activation. Non-significant correlations between all muscle pairings during all ADIM and ABM strategies were observed. These findings may suggest the need for healthcare providers who understand the intricacies of trunk stability to teach and monitor VPAC with either ADIM or ABM options.

Going the distance: serving the needs of older youth at scale.

Few communities have developed successful strategies for attracting large numbers of older youth to their out-of-school-time programs. In addition to meeting the unique developmental and programmatic needs of this population, communities have struggled with the challenge of creating communitywide integrated approaches to service delivery and resource development. Communities wanting to build a system of supports for older youth must do so in the context of a communitywide strategy as opposed to fragmented, individually operating programs and services. A communitywide strategy creates greater opportunity for strategic mobilization of resources, greater funding leverage, evaluation and assessment consistency, and more powerful input into creating a public voice and public will for supporting and serving older youth as they make the transition to adulthood.

The various roles of municipal leaders.

Municipal officials can take an important role in developing a community-wide after-school system. This chapter examines how mayors and city council members can serve as catalysts for far-reaching efforts that address key challenges.